Australian Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne has announced that proposals from BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia have been shortlisted for the country’s program to build nine new frigates for the Royal Australian Navy

The BAE Systems Global Combat Ship, based on the Type 26 frigate [more here]; Fincantieri’s anti-submarine warfare FREMM (Fregata Europea Multi-Missione [more here]) and a redesigned version of Navantia’s Álvaro de Bazán (F100) class vessel [more here] are vying for the $35 billion (US $27 billion) program [all three are in the running for the RCN design].

The ships will be built in Adelaide, South Australia, with the first steel expected to be cut in 2020 [as for RCN CSCs, the “Implementation Contract” is only supposed to be awarded in the early 2020s with first delivery in the late 2020s!] and will be fitted with phased array radar systems being developed by Australia’s CEA Technologies.

The shortlist marks first-pass approval of Australia’s Future Frigate program (Project Sea 5000) and the ongoing competitive evaluation process (CEP) is expected to select a winning design, marking second pass approval, in 2018.

Australia is also seeking to build 12 offshore patrol vessels and Payne revealed that Damen of the Netherlands, together with two German ship designers, Fassmer and Lürsssen, have been shortlisted and will now refine their respective proposals in conjunction with the commonwealth.